And so on February 5, “Our Energy Moment” was born. The PR blitz is described in a press release announcing the launch as a “new coalition dedicated to raising awareness and celebrating the many benefits of expanded markets for liquefied natural gas.”

So the industry is funding a PR campaign clearly in its self interest. But so what? You have to read all the way to the bottom of the press releases to find what's perhaps the most interesting tidbit.

At the very bottom of “Our Energy Moment's” releases, a contact person named Tiffany Edwards is listed with an email address ending in @blueenginemedia.com. If you visit blueenginemedia.com you'll find the website for PR and advertising firm Blue Engine Message & Media.

“Free-market” capitalists seem to be an endangered species in this bruising era of economic accountability. As the Big Three automakers loiter in the lobbies of the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament, begging for handouts, everyone seems to be avoiding the question of why the taxpayer should have to prop up these losers.

Ford, which lost $8.7 billion in the second-quarter of this year as its truck-dominated fleet crashed into oily reality, is advertising its latest Ontario production facility as “green” because it features a “more fuel-efficient V8 engine.” And Stephen Harper, in a pre-election vote-buying frenzy, is using taxpayers money to prop up this stupidity.

A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by the State of California against auto manufacturers. The suit claimed damages against automakers for the environmental damage being caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Or in other words, the automakers named in the lawsuit (General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motor, Honda Motor, Daimler Chrysler and Nissan) can continue to pump greenhouse gas into our atmosphere and taxpayers will continue to foot the bill to study, plan, monitor and respond to the impacts of global warming.

The AAM has a long history of fighting emission standards, so it's no wonder why a headline like “11 million alternative fuel autos on the road today” would jump out at anyone familiar with the Alliance and their not-so-environmentally friendly activities.

For those of you haven’t seen the film Who Killed the Electric Car, the premise is quite simple and by the looks of things, it’s a premise that could repeat itself in the next decade or so.

While big automakers, like Ford, Toyota and GM hang a “hybrid plug-in” carrot in front of our collective nose, they’re fighting tooth and nail in California, and elsewhere, against stricter greenhouse gas emission standards for new vehicles.

The Ford Motor Company, who has been criticized in the past by environmentalists for backing down from their alternative energy, vehicle development, announced that they would be selling plug-in hybrids in the next five to ten years.

This is the first time that Ford has announced a timeline for producing plug-in hybrids. The plug-in hybrid is seen as the best type of alternative energy vehicle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and gas consumption.

Toyota, the world's new number one automaker has been winning praise far and wide for the fuel efficiency of its fleet. And Toyota Vice President Josephine Cooper said in a recent TV interview that “Toyota has long supported increasing fuel economy standards for vehicles, which means increasing CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency] standards.”

Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.

There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.